Deuteronomy 22:8

Deuteronomy 22:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.
• New International Version (NIV)When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring guilt of bloodshed on your household if anyone falls from it.

Context of Deuteronomy 22:8

6“If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, do not take the mother along with the young. 7You may take the young for yourself, but be sure to let the mother go free, so that you may prosper and live long. If you build a new house, make a railing around your roof, so that you don’t bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it. 9Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; otherwise, the entire harvest, both the crop you plant and the produce of the vineyard, will be defiled. 10Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Deuteronomy 22:8 word by word

כִּ֤י תִבְנֶה֙ בַּ֣יִת חָדָ֔שׁ וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ מַעֲקֶ֖ה לְגַגֶּ֑ךָ וְלֹֽא־תָשִׂ֤ים דָּמִים֙ בְּבֵיתֶ֔ךָ כִּֽי־יִפֹּ֥ל הַנֹּפֵ֖ל מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• When thou buildestבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• a newחָדָשׁchâdâsh · newH2319
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• then thou shalt makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• a battlementמַעֲקֶהma‛ăqeh · parapetH4624
• for thy roofגָּגgâg · roofH1406
• that thou bringשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
• not bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• if any manנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 22:8

• Exodus 21:28“When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its meat may not be eaten, but the ox’s owner is innocent.
• Exodus 22:6“When a fire gets out of control, spreads to thornbushes, and consumes stacks of cut grain, standing grain, or a field, the one who started the fire must make full restitution for what was burned.
• Romans 14:13Therefore, let us no longer judge one another. Instead decide never to put a stumbling block or pitfall in the way of your brother or sister.
• 1 Corinthians 10:32Give no offense to Jews or Greeks or the church of God,
• Philippians 1:10so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ,
• 1 Thessalonians 5:22Stay away from every kind of evil.
• 2 Samuel 11:2One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing — a very beautiful woman.
• Isaiah 22:1A pronouncement concerning the Valley of Vision: What’s the matter with you? Why have all of you gone up to the rooftops?
• Jeremiah 19:13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will become impure like that place Topheth — all the houses on whose rooftops they have burned incense to all the stars in the sky and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”
• Matthew 10:27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops.
• Mark 2:4Since they were not able to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and after digging through it, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
• Acts 10:9The next day, as they were traveling and nearing the city, Peter went up to pray on the roof about noon.
• Ezekiel 3:18If I say to the wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him — you don’t speak out to warn him about his wicked way in order to save his life — that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.
• Ezekiel 32:2“Son of man, lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him, ‘You compare yourself to a lion of the nations, but you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash about in your rivers, churn up the waters with your feet, and muddy the rivers.
• Matthew 18:6“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away — it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.
• Acts 20:26Therefore I declare to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you,

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 22:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8A battlement for thy roof - Houses in the East are in general built with flat roofs, and on them men walk to enjoy the fresh air, converse together, sleep, etc.; it was therefore necessary to have a sort of battlement or balustrade to prevent persons from falling off. If a man neglected to make a sufficient defense against such accidents, and the death of another was occasioned by it, the owner of the house must be considered in the light of a murderer.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6-8Verses 6-8 These precepts are designed to cultivate a spirit of humanity. Compare Deuteronomy 25:4; Leviticus 22:28; and 1 Corinthians 9:9-10. Deuteronomy 22:8 The roofs of houses in Palestine were flat and used for various purposes. Compare Joshua 2:6; 2 Samuel 11:2; Acts 10:9, etc. A battlement was almost a necessary protection. It was to be, according to the rabbis, at least two cubits high (about 3 ft.).Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-12Verses 5-12 God's providence extends itself to the smallest affairs, and his precepts do so, that even in them we may be in the fear of the Lord, as we are under his eye and care. Yet the tendency of these laws, which seem little, is such, that being found among the things of God's law, they are to be accounted great things. If we would prove ourselves to be God's people, we must have respect to his will and to his glory, and not to the vain fashions of…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence--The tops of houses in ancient Judea, as in the East still, were flat, being composed of branches or twigs laid across large beams, and covered with a cement of clay or strong plaster. They were surrounded by a parapet breast high. In summer the roof is a favorite resort for coolness, and accidents would frequently happen from persons…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 22:8

• Battlements
• Homicide
• House

In the dictionaries

• Astray
• Battlement
• Chance
• House
• Husband
• Rise
• Architecture
• Assassination
• Atonement, Day of
• Criticism

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings